I think there was another thread like this but I can't seem to find it. Just wondering what the feeding habits of other 4-5 month olds are. DS is almost 5 months. At his last appointment they said he was just about 14 lbs. That's a good weight for him since he's also short. Lately he's eating only 5 bottles a day. He has one 7 oz at 8 a.m., a 7 oz at 12 p.m. a 7 oz at 4 p.m., a 4 oz. at 6 p.m. and a 7 oz at 8:30 p.m. He also gets almost 4 oz mixed in with two tablespoons of cereal. One tablespoon at 10 a.m. and one at 7 p.m. He's a little better with the barley cereal but he's still not very interested. Since he can go till at least 6 months on just formula, we aren't pushing too hard on the cereal. He can eat it just fine, but he seems to be more interested in talking and grinning than eating. Is there any ways to get him more interested? Like I said, we aren't worried about his lack of interest yet but if anyone has any tricks that would be great. We aren't giving him any more veggies until he gets more interested in his cereal. How are others his age eating?

My daughter is the same age...she will be 5 months in a week. She probably weighs about 13 lbs by now.

Here's what we are doing right now:
I breastfeed every 2 hours from the time she wakes up until she goes to bed. Not sure how many oz, but when we do give her a bottle it's usually about 5 oz of EBM.

As for solids, I have been doing the rice and oatmeal cereal since she turned 4 months. I have been feeding her twice a day (lunch and dinner) with 1½ oz EBM and 2 tablespoons of cereal. I top her off with breastfeeding, but she doesn't breastfeed a whole lot when she's just had her cereal.

Just yesterday I started carrots, so I'm now giving her cereal/EBM but I bumped it down to 1 oz EBM, and give her ½ jar of carrots.

I could probably do it 3 times a day...not sure why I'm only doing it twice.

I've noticed that if I interract with her too much during the feedings, she's more interested in me than eating. So, I don't say a whole lot. I just make faces and keep the food coming.

I've also noticed that once I start feeding her, I have to keep it coming fast or she gets cranky. I'm guessing it has something to do with being used to milk flowing at her constantly at the breast or bottle, and she's not used to taking her time with a spoon and swallowing a little at a time yet.

She has liked everything we've tried so far, so I don't have suggestions. However, my best friend told me that if she didn't like a vegetable, try mixing it with cereal to mask the flavor a bit. I haven't tried mixing anything together at this point.

I read the nutrition info on the cereal and the vegetables, and the cereal is superior to the vegetables. So, I have decided for us that the primary solid will be cereal. I'm doing vegetables to let her try new things and get a taste for things...and to see what her diapers do with other foods. I'm not going to worry too much if she doesn't like something just yet.

That's what's going on here. I seem to be making all this up as I go along.

Added later...you know...I noticed that your cereal mix is a lot runnier than what I make. When I started, I found she ate her cereal much better if I made it thicker...like applesauce or just a little bit stiffer than that. You might try that.

Actually Gayle I think you are right about the thickness. The 1 tbsp to 2 tbsp liquid is what the box gives but I did notice when I was mixing it my own way, thicker, that it seems to go down easier and with less spit out. I think alot of the problem with his eating is that I become the distraction. I'll try it next time with less talking on my part and see if he focuses a bit more on the eating. We did give him some of the vegetables but we decided it was better to just go with the cereal until he's eating it well. Some days he does great and then others he can't be bothered with it. I never caught the obvious that maybe if I stop talking to him, he'll quit talking to me. lol

DS is just under 3mos and is starting to talk up a storm! I can't feed him without him stopping and talking. He jsut stares at me waiting for me to talk to him. If I as much make a peep, or look a certain way (any way really) he stops and grins and starts babbling. He used to eat like crazy now he just wants to talk. Its so funny but frustrating when he wants to eat every 15mins because he can't stop talking during!

Gayle, did you notice any drops in the amount of any drops in the amount of breastmilk she's drinking? DS isn't eating as much formula as he was but I'm not sure if it's the food or the fact that he's not been growing as fast at the moment. We did try the cereal thicker and it went way better. You were also right about keeping it coming. He didn't get so distracted that way. Since the cereal thing improved I've been giving him some vegetables as well. He has a couple of tablespoons of cereal and a little fruit in the morning, 2 tablespoons of veggies at lunch and a tablespoon of cereal + 1 of carrots at night. Most of the time he's eating it. Have you given any fruit yet? We were told to wait until he was eating the veggies well. We're trying them but if he stops eating the veggies there won't be any fruit for a while. So far, he just makes sour faces at the fruit. Lastly, are you giving a half jar of carrots at once or is that throughout the day?

Sorry for all the questions. lol Who knew eating was so confusing, I think about his meals more than ours.

Celestine...glad to hear it's working out better.

I have started giving fruit just today. I started them because every vegetable & cereal she's tried, she likes...I don't think she's that picky. Ava did the same thing with the fruit...the sour face. She had peaches. I thought they were sour too, but after the first taste, she ate them just like anything else.

For lunch, we have ½ jar of baby food (I have the del monte brand...2½ oz per jar) plus cereal. The cereal mix I give is still 1 or 1½ oz breastmilk mixed with about 2 tablespoons cereal. It's been oatmeal about 90% of the time lately. I top her off with breastfeeding. Yes, there is quite a drop in the amount of breastmilk she takes when it's with a solid meal. She'll nurse maybe 5 minutes & she's done. Nursing without solids normally takes about 15-20 minutes.

For dinner, we have the other half of the jar of baby food and the same cereal mix.

I am still only doing 2 solid meals a day. Her diapers are changing & different every day, and her spit-up is more often since solids, so I'm still sticking with 2 meals/day until I get more comfortable with the changes so far.

I do not mix the vegetables with the cereal. I did not mix the fruit this morning with the cereal either. Are you mixing? I know you can. I guess I don't mix my own food, so I don't mix her food.

I don't mix them as a rule either. Unfortunatly we haven't been so lucky with him liking everything so I have mixed a couple of times just to mask the tastes of the things he wasn't so fond of. Carrots were one that he didn't take to right away. I mixed a couple of times and now he will eat them without mixing. We know when DS isn't that thrilled with something because most of it will end up being spit right back out or he'll refuse to open his mouth altogether. The things he likes he takes and swallows. We gave up on rice cereal for now with him. I tried to sneak it back in one morning when he was doing well with the cereal again but he had about 2 bites and was on to me. lol He wouldn't open his mouth for me again. He gets primarily barley but was ok with the oatmeal as well. For the most part, DS spits up less since he's been on solids. He used to eat almost full bottles of formula more often and I think he often bloated himself. His bottles are still big but they're 4 hours apart so as long as I put him down in his swing for 1/2 or so after, he's usually good. It's nice that he doesn't want to eat as often. He used to be full all the time and you could never really "play" to much or he'd spit it all up.

I did notice today his #2's were pretty dry and he worked pretty hard on it so I'm keeping and eye on that and if he doesn't straighten out tomorrow I'll probaby knock the cereal back until he does. It's the first time I've noticed trouble and I don't want him constipated.

When were you recommended to try proteins?

Funny about the spit up. I also am careful about playing too much after eating or she'll lose what she ate.

I've been worried about consitpation too, but I'm doing the breast so that might be the difference. I've noticed Ava's dirty diapers are stiffer when she's been eating mostly rice cereal, and they are more liquified when it's been mostly oatmeal. I don't think the vegetables are changing the diapers (other than the color and smell) as much as the cereal does.

As for the meats, the Ped didn't give instructions on meats yet. He just said we could start cereals, vegs, and fruits at 4 months. We go back at 6 months, so I'm sure I'll get instructions then.

My "What to Expect the First Year" book recommends only rice cereal at 4-6 months. Then the other grains, vegs, and fruits at 6 months...Meats at 7-8 months...and yogurt, cheese, pasta & beans at 9 months. Clearly, we are not following the book recommendations.

Gotta go...baby crying!

bumping up for babydoll

I dont want to Hijack your thread but..Does anyone's baby have more than just half the jar? Savanna wants to eat the whole jar. She is a big girl though about 16 1/2 lbs now.
The only way she will eat cereal if it is thick (thickness of the babyfood)
She Does not seem to be taking fruit. She only like applesauce. Ive tried peaches and banannas.
No problems with greenbeans, peas, squash..she loves carrots..she laughes while eating them..lol.
Anyway I officially Hijacked back to my question..More than half of the jar????
Monica
Savanna Faye 9/16/05

I haven't gone over the half a jar of the baby food yet. Mostly, I'm trying not to feed him too much solids and then have his intake of formula go way down. I'd say probably if she seems to be getting enough formula/breastmilk than it's probably ok.

Has anyone tried with the juice/sippy cup yet? We tried it last night and this morning. I have one that doesn't leak, but has a really big spout that DS can't even keep in his mouth on let alone suck on yet. The other one has a small spout but leaks like crazy. We tried it just with water and I gave him the leaky one so I could help him get a little in his mouth. He was wet, lol but he liked holding it. It will be a while I'm sure before he can do it alone but he was really excited to get a drink with my help.

today is my 2nd day trying cereal with a spoon. She hates it. She cries and spits it right out. Is this normal? How long until she will start liking it.

I'm still on ½ a jar also. 5 months old.

My Ped said half the battle with solids is for them to learn to use a spoon, so it's okay if your baby isn't getting it right away. I don't know how long it takes. Ava was really good at it on the 3rd feeding. I'm sure it can take longer.

Celestine...I tried the sippy cup about a week ago and it was no good. The holes in the cup were too big and the water came out too fast. She hated the water too (her first time trying water).

I went and bought the Avent sippy cups the next day but haven't got around to trying them yet. They are labelled as 6+ months and are meant to transition from breast/bottle to sippys. They are spillproof too. One of these days I'm going to have her try the sippy with breastmilk and see what happens. I'll report the findings when we do it.

For those of yall who have introduced sippies. What did you all put in them? Just the water? Or formula? How often are you giving them? Once a day?
Monica

For those of yall who have introduced sippies. What did you all put in them? Just the water? Or formula? How often are you giving them? Once a day?
Monica


We've only put water in DS's. The only cup I have that he can actually drink out of, one with a smaller spout, also leaks when you tip it. I don't mind him making a mess out of himself with water. I give it to him after every round of solids so three times a day. That way he'll get used to having a drink with his meals. I help him drink a few sips and then give it to him so he can try on his own. So far, he has the idea but lacks the motor skills to do it. He'll grab the cup by the handles, and bring it up to his mouth, but he doesn't know how to get the spout itself in there. More often than not he's wearing it but he gets really excited trying.

bumping up again.